Gehlot govt suspends Jaipur mayor after husband arrested in bribery case

Suspended mayor Munesh Gurjar claims this is a political conspiracy against her family, while the Rajasthan government cracks down on bribery cases

Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government suspended Munesh Gurjar, the Mayor of Jaipur Heritage Municipal Corporation, following the arrest of her husband Sushil Gurjar, in a bribery case. Sushil Gurjar, along with two alleged middlemen, Narayan Singh, and Anil Dubey, is suspected of accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh in exchange for facilitating the issuance of land deeds, according to Press Trust of India.

 

Additionally, a search at the Gurjar home uncovered Rs 40 lakh in the case and a file lease, while Rs 8 lakh were recovered from Narayan Singh's house.

 

Munesh Gurjar, in response to her suspension, has characterised the entire situation as a "political conspiracy against her and her family."

 

The decision to suspend Munesh Gurjar was issued late on a Saturday night by the state's Local Self Government Department. This department is responsible for overseeing municipal corporations and other local government bodies. The suspension was deemed necessary due to the mayor's perceived "prima facie" involvement in the ongoing investigation.

 

Expressing confidence in the judicial process, she stated her belief that those behind the alleged conspiracy would eventually be exposed. Furthermore, she demanded transparency in her interactions with Rajasthan minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, urging him to share his call details and correspondence with her.

 

Talking to reporters, suspended Mayor Munesh Gurjar said, "Those involved in the conspiracy will be trapped one day or the other. I have full faith in the judiciary."

 

Gurjar added, "He (Rajasthan minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas) should provide his call details -- how many times he talked to me, how many complaints he has given me in writing and how many letters he has sent to me for his work and how much I have stopped that work."

 

Minister Khachariyawas, who met Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday, stated that he welcomed the government's decision to suspend the Mayor. He reiterated the government's commitment to taking strict action against corruption and said, "Both of them (the mayor and her husband) did not think about the image of the party and its leader. There can be no greater sin."

 

He added, "I want the ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau) recording to be made public. The general public also knows how these people were indulging in corruption. We made a Congress mayor for the welfare of the people, not for corruption and theft."

 

Adarsh Nagar Congress MLA Rafiq Khan emphasised the government's zero-tolerance policy for corruption.

 

"The government suspended the mayor within 24 hours. Whoever indulges in corruption in Rajasthan will face strict action no matter how big he is," Khan stated.

 

Cracking down on cases of corruption, in a separate incident, the Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested two executives from the Public Health Engineering Department, Mayalal Saini and Pradeep, who were apprehended according to a report by PTI on Monday. The ACB's action followed a raid on a hotel in Jaipur, where the executives were allegedly caught accepting a bribe of Rs 2.20 lakh. The bribe was reportedly given to facilitate the approval of outstanding bills for construction works in the PHED's Behror (Alwar) circle, which were executed by the contractor's firm.

 

The ACB team also discovered an additional Rs 2.90 lakh in the vehicles of the accused individuals. All five individuals involved in this case, including the two executives, contractor Padam Chand Jain, supervisor Malket Singh, and a private individual named Praveen Kumar, were arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act.